1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handle assembly and, more particularly, to a retractable luggage handle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional luggage handle comprises a support unit, a control unit and an operation unit. The support unit includes an outer tube having a side provided with at least one locking hole, and a support seat mounted on an upper end of the outer tube. The control unit includes a housing movably mounted in the outer tube of the support unit, a slide movably mounted in the housing and having a first end provided with a locking stub detachably locked in the locking hole of the outer tube and a second end provided with a driven portion, a push spring biased between the second end of the slide and the housing, a push shank movably mounted on the housing and having a lower end provided with a drive portion detachably pressing the driven portion of the slide and an upper end provided with a pressing portion, and an elastic member biased between the pressing portion of the push shank and the housing. The operation unit includes an inner tube movably mounted in the outer tube of the support unit and having a lower end connected with the control unit, a pull bar movably mounted on the support seat of the support unit and having a lower end connected with an upper end of the inner tube, a drive rod movably mounted in the inner tube and having a lower end abutting the pressing portion of the push shank to move the push shank of the control unit toward the slide of the control unit and an upper end provided with a thrust portion movably mounted on the lower end of the pull bar, and a push button movably mounted on the lower end of the pull bar and abutting the thrust portion of the drive rod to push the drive rod toward the push shank of the control unit.
In operation, the elastic member pushes the pressing portion of the push shank upward relative to the housing so that the drive portion of the push shank is moved upward to detach from the driven portion of the slide. At this time, the push spring pushes the slide toward the locking hole of the outer tube so that the locking stub of the slide is locked in the locking hole of the outer tube to lock the control unit onto the outer tube of the support unit and to lock the operation unit onto the outer tube of the support unit.
When the push button is pressed by a user, the thrust portion of the drive rod is moved downward to push the drive rod which pushes the pressing portion of the push shank to move the push shank of the control unit toward the slide of the control unit, so that the drive portion of the push shank is movable to press the driven portion of the slide to drive the slide outwardly relative to the outer tube and to detach the locking stub of the slide from the locking hole of the outer tube so as to unlock the control unit from the outer tube of the support unit and to unlock the operation unit from the outer tube of the support unit. Thus, the operation unit is movable freely relative to the support unit so that the pull bar and the inner tube of the operation unit can be pulled outwardly from the support seat of the support unit.
However, when the luggage handle is thrown during transportation, the luggage handle is easily subjected to a shock due to a hit or collision, so that the drive rod is easily moved downward due to the shock to push the push shank toward the slide and to detach the locking stub of the slide from the locking hole of the outer tube. Thus, the pull bar and the inner tube of the operation unit can be moved outwardly from the support seat of the support unit so that the pull bar and the inner tube are easily deformed or worn out due to a larger hit or collision.